Charu Deshpande suicide: Grilling by Mumbai police continues

Jamshedpur, July 24: Mumbai Police has questioned officials of Tata Steel in connection with the suicide of the company's former chief of Corporate Communication, Charudutta Deshpande.

The interrogation by a six-member team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Deoraj lasted for about 13 hours till last mid night.

The questioning followed a nine-hour-long interrogation of the employees of the steel major's Corporate Communication department here on Monday.

"We have interrogated vice-president rank officials as well as others including officers of the department from Odisha and Kolkata, besides Jamshedpur," Deoraj said without divulging whom they had questioned.

The questioning could continue today also. Devraj parried questions on whether any clue was achieved during the interrogation. Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil had ordered Mumbai Crime Branch chief Himanshu Roy to probe the alleged suicide of Deshpande (57), who was found hanging at his Vasai home on June 28.

There were allegations that Deshpande killed himself following harassment by the employees of Tata Steel. A departmental inquiry into the circumstances leading to Deshpande's death has also been ordered by Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry.